Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Liberal democracies as strong central states

Francis Fukuyama in his new book identifies the components that define liberal democracies as a strong central state. These include a society being strong enough to hold the state accountable. Second, the rule of law. Two basic principles define rule of law. First is that it is equitable, meaning law is applied the same in each a every case without privileges. Second, government cannot make new rules that benefit its supporters and/or chastise its critics or opponents, except through due process delineated in its constitution or governance documents.

So then, how are we doing in Honduras under this conceptual framework for policy development? If we contrast the two cases of Mr.Pedro Martir Banegas, who has been in jail 6 years (and has two more to go) for stealing 2 hens, and the case of Mr. Manuel Zelaya Rosales, who has been accused of violating the constitution and whose corruption charges have been pretty much erased and who is not likely to ever face a judge much less prison for any crime, then we have to say we are doing quite poorly.

Reference

Francis Fukuyama, “The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution “, Farrar, Straus and Giroux; First Edition, Hardcover 608 pages, April 12, 2011.

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I'm a Research Fellow, working for the Environment and Production Technology Division at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)in Washington, DC. The opinions in this Blog are mine and mine only. Nothing can be attributed to my employer nor any of my colleagues and other staff members at IFPRI.